Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff, one of the greatest exponents of Latin American liberation theology along with Gustavo Gutierrez of Peru, spoke out in favor of the priestly ordination of women in the Catholic Church and advocated in an article published on the site. digital religion What “No doctrinal or dogmatic barrier prevents women from accessing the priesthood.” In 1994 and faced with the debate aroused in the Church on this subject, Pope John Paul II spoke of it in an apostolic letter entitled “Of priestly ordination reserved for men”. on this occasion Karol Wojtyla explicitly declares that “by virtue of his ministry of affirming the faith of the brethren, to remove all doubt on a question of great importance, which belongs to the very divine constitution of the Church (cf. Lk 22, 32), I declare that The Church has no power to confer priestly ordination on women.“And decided that”This opinion should be considered definitive by all believers in the Church.Formally closing all discussions on the subject. Benedict XVI and Francis, his successor to the papacy, also took this view, although the debate over the ordination of women to the Catholic priesthood is still open both at the religious level and within the congregation. Other religious traditions, including Christian churches, ordained women to practice the ministerial priesthood.
Leonardo Boff has always been a standard bearer for a greater role for women in the Catholic Church. Now, faced with the appointment by Francis of three women who would unify the episcopal (ministerial) for bishops, to propose to the Pope the names of candidates for bishops, Boff writes that it is a question of “A big step, but only the first”and added that “only a small door has been opened for Christian women to participate in all professions and services for the people of God.”
The 83-year-old theologian published a book called “Church, Charism and Power” in 1981, which made him the target of Vatican attacks and, given his status as a Franciscan priest and professor of theology, called for “silence” him. to order. and suspended the “one divine” by Pope John Paul II. Although the sanction that prevented him from teaching and serving in public was later lifted, Boff renounced the priesthood in the church in 1992, but continued his religious preaching and activities involving theology and protection. of the environment.
Following the election of Jorge Bergoglio as supreme authority of the Catholic Church The relationship between Boff and Francisco was extremely fluid. And Brazilians have been heard repeatedly praising the pontiff’s work and his statements about life, church and society.
,We are in favor of the priesthood of women in the Roman Catholic Church, selected and drawn from communities of faith,” Boff now wrote. And he added that “it’s up to them (women) to give it a specific configuration, different from that of men”.
In his argument, the theologian declares: “First of all, it must be affirmed that the feminine dimension is not exclusive to women, because man and woman are, in their own way, bearers of the masculine and the feminine. This Nazareth K is also true for Jesus, being fully human, he is completely divine.
He also states that the Church of Life and Magisterium is “not a pit of dead water” and, therefore, “is revived by experiencing the irreversible changes of history.” No matter how Catholic tradition has so far manifested the opposite.
And just as “the equality of women in terms of respect and rights with men is increasingly attested all over the world” it is understandable that “it is not easy to eliminate centuries of patriarchy which means reducing women and marginalizing them,” says Boff. She added that “discrimination is slowly and surely being eliminated and in some cases even sanctioned” and that “in practice, all public places and the most diverse functions are open to women”.
patriarchal culture
according to the brazilian The Catholic Church was ‘held hostage to a secular patriarchal culture, but it cannot become a bastion of conservatism and anti-feminism’ in a world that leads to the prosperity of relations between men and women”. However, he believes that “Pope Francis has the ability to raise issues relevant to today’s world, such as the issue of marital morality or homosexuality and the treatment of other minorities.”
To give more weight to his statement, Boff recalls that “the careful examination of high-level theologians such as Karl Rahner has revealed that there is no doctrinal or dogmatic barrier that prevents women’s access to the priesthood”.
Among other considerations, Boff states that “if a woman, Mary, could give birth to her son Jesus, how could she not represent him damnedly in the community? There is an obvious contradiction here, which can only be understood in the context of the patriarchal and sexist church, which is made up of celibates in the leading and animating body of the faith.,
And he predicts that “the time will come when the Roman Catholic Church will adapt to the path of the global women’s movement, with other Christian churches that have women as priests and even bishops, and with the world.” , towards unification. ‘animus’ and ‘anima’ for human enrichment and for a more integral Christian experience and ultimately for the benefit of the Church”.
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